Soundbites from 787 delivery

From Scott Fancher, head of the 787 program:

* We’ve developed a set of technologies that will be the backbone of development for the next 30 years.

* This is as big a leap forward as the 707 was.

* 787-9 design is very stable over last couple of years. The weight is down. We will start producing tools next year. We will start producing components next year. (Not structural components.)

* Charleston has been designed to be funbdamentally identical to Everett.

* When we have the data, we will put Charleston and Everett under one quality control system.

* Despite huge costs, we like the investment we made in the 787.

13 Comments on “Soundbites from 787 delivery

  1. Scott forgot to say ;

    1) ” The check is in the mail ” to shareholders

    2) ” Just ignore the rattle in the nosegear, its just one of our IAM union members who threatened strike ” We awarded him a free ride to Tokyo in 3rd class to show there was no retaliation.

  2. “We’ve developed a set of technologies that will be the backbone of development for the next 30 years.”
    Well better be, Boeing certainly paid ‘an arm and a leg’ for it!

    “Despite huge costs, we like the investment we made in the 787.”
    What else could he possibly say?

  3. He certainly wouldn’t say:
    1. The plane still doesn’t meet all its targets, including Trent 1000 and GEnx;
    2. Their technology lead has all but disappeared through delays, Airbus has caught up;
    3. The order book isn’t growing as robustly as hoped; and,
    4. The shareholders have seen a 40% drop in value from this debacle.
    But it is nice to see cash flow reversed from out to in – even though the in is much lower than anticipated due to performance guarantees and settlements with customers over delays.

    • Actually, he could say three of the four and be telling the truth:

      2. The technology lead is reduced, but it certainly has not disappeared. Airbus still doesn’t have an A350 built, let alone flying. Even if you believe Airbus will perform to plan, they are still years from delivering the A350; something Boeing did with the 787 today.

      3. Both the 787 and the A350 are effectively sold out through the end of the decade. When both models reached that point, sales effectively stalled for both aircraft. This has nothing to do with the products, it has everything to do with availability – nobody wants to pay deposits on frames they won’t receive for 8-10 years.

      4. Over 4 years (since the BA boom days of Sep 26, 2007), BA stock is down 43%. Over the same period of time, the DJIA is down 22% and the S&P500 is down 26%. Adjusted for overall market performance, it would appear Boeing-specific performance has taken around 20% off the stock price.

      I’d have to agree with you on number 1.

  4. Ya know, y’all, Boeing’s had a tough three years on the 787 and U-Turn Al embarrassed the hell out of Boeing last week. Let them have their moment in the sun. The 787 will be a good airplane once past the Lead Sleds and it sets the stage for the next 30 years, as Fancher said. In fact, you are already seeing in the the current 7-Series airplanes, as we’ve previously noted. Give Boeing the next couple of days, will ya?

    • Right.
      ANA is conciously going to imcrease visibility of their Dreamliners by
      employing them for domestic short haul and regional operations 😉

      Any information when they will get their first “longrange” Dreamliner?

  5. The first 707-100 delivered to Pan Am in late 1958; it was in service Oct 28 1958, one-stop Idlewild-Paris via Gander. The following year, 707-300’s could make the flight non-stop

    All that happened slightly more the four years after the prototype 367-80 first flew in July 1954. or three years after Pan Am and American placed the first 707 orders in mid-1955.

    How much of a leap was the 707? More than twice as many seats as a DC-7C or Lockheed 1649 Starliner. About 200-250 mph faster. Flew 15 to 20,000 ft higher. Once the non-stop 707’s and DC-8’s started flying the Atlantic, flight times were nearly halved. Not just a new engine, but an entirely new and different kind of engine.

    The 787 “as big a leap forward as the 707”?. Seven years after go-ahead? More than four years since the empty shell’s rollout on 7-8-07? Nearly two years since first flight? Billions of $$$ wasted? Can Boeing afford any more “big leaps” like this one? Not b____y likely, mate

  6. I don’t think NH will employ the B-787 on long range service for about a year. But before that, many countries will see B-787 service because their own airlines will finally get their first to several B-787s.

    • ANA plans to start regular international ops from Haneda to Frankfurt in January 2012

  7. Hi Scott,

    I believe I submitted the first comments on this subject this morning and verified
    receipt of my comments by Leeham News and Comment afterwords.

    Any idea what might have happened to my complimentary words re. the revo-
    lutionairy 787, which will grace the skies around the world for many years to
    come, in spite of the financial costs to all Boeing shareholders and the damage
    the 3.5 year delay in delivery of the first aircraft has done to Boeing’s reputation?

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